Toxic PFAS can be broken down by bacteria found in wastewater
15 May 2023
Bacteria that break down some types of “forever chemicals” can be found in sludge from wastewater treatment plants.
Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of synthetic chemicals widely used in coatings and foams that resist oil, heat and water. There are thousands of types of PFAS, several of which have been shown to cause harmful health effects. They are also long-lasting environmental contaminants thanks to the tough carbon-fluorine bonds they contain.
One way to deal with this contamination would be to identify microbes that degrade those carbon-fluorine bonds, says Yujie Men at the University of California, Riverside. But fluorine bonds are rare in nature, and microbes that can break the bonds also appear to be rare.
